Congress Rethinks Telangana Strategy After 'Black Magic' Row

The Congress in Telangana is facing growing political pressure after a controversy over allegations of "kshudra pujas" and "black magic" involving senior BRS leader T Harish Rao.

The row has led to sharp exchanges between the ruling Congress and the opposition BRS and has also brought legal notices into the political fight.

Congress leaders, including Telangana Congress chief B Mahesh Kumar Goud, chairman of party's state media and communication Sama Ramamohan Reddy and MLC Addanki Dayakar, have accused Harish Rao of visiting religious places and allegedly performing tantric rituals with the intention of harming Telangana and the Congress government.

Ramamohan Reddy alleged that Harish Rao had visited Tiruchirappalli and Shivamogga for such rituals. "For what purpose did you do all this? A direct question," he said.

Harish Rao has rejected the allegations and responded with legal notices to Mahesh Kumar Goud, Ramamohan Reddy, and Dayakar. His lawyer has demanded unconditional apologies and withdrawal of the statements, warning that civil and criminal defamation cases could follow.

The BRS has also strongly criticised the Congress with party MLC Dasoju Sravan accusing the Congress of wrongly presenting traditional Hindu practices as "kshudra pujas."

"Politics is a persuasive debate on policies," Sravan said, arguing that political parties should focus on governance instead of religious practices.

The controversy has now also raised questions inside the Congress about its communication strategy.

In an important organisational move, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on August 6 appointed Bhongir MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy as the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee's State Chairperson of the Media and Publicity Department with immediate effect. The move is seen as a snub to the state unit.

The Congress is now under pressure to keep its leaders on message and avoid statements that could create further political or legal problems.

The coming days will show whether the party takes disciplinary action or makes more organisational changes against a few state leaders who are taking a different line from the party putting it red-faced publicly.